The literal translation of the word fibromyalgia is pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. But it is much more than pain. The causes of fibromyalgia are not yet well defined by conventional medicine, and according to the College of Rheumatology, fibromyalgia is the second most common disease affecting the musculoskeletal system after osteoarthritis.
About 10 million people suffer from fibromyalgia in the US alone, and it occurs in people of all ages, including children, with a ratio of about 8 to 2 in women to men.
Fibromyalgia is diagnosed on a variety of symptoms, which vary from person to person. These can include tender sore spots throughout the body, chronic pain, muscle pain, cognitive impairment, fatigue, sleep disturbances (waking up and feeling like you are not rested), memory problems or mental confusion, cognitive difficulties and stiffness most common symptoms reported.
Other common symptoms may include depression or anxiety, tension headaches, migraines, irritable or overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), TMD (including tinnitus), pelvic pain, and gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD).
Stress in general makes related problems and symptoms worse. Health care providers are still trying to find the causes of fibromyalgia and generally only offer symptom relief with the administration of pain medication and antidepressants.
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7 Causes of Fibromyalgia Your Doctor May Not Know.
1. MTHFR mutations.
This genetic test is available through any medical consultant. The way it works is that the more mutations you have in the MTHFR gene, the less capable they are at methylation and detoxifying toxins like mercury and lead.
Depending on the number of mutations you have in this gene, it reflects the amount of methyl-B6, methyl-B12, and folinic acid needed to keep your detoxification pathways working properly.
2. Thyroid.
When being reviewed by your doctor, you should ask him to review the six blood markers to obtain an exact measure of your thyroid gland function.
It’s also crucial that your doctor uses the best possible levels rather than standard reference values when evaluating and diagnosing thyroid disorders.
By having thyroid levels in the optimal range, fatigue, brain fog, depression, and sleep disturbances are generally decreased.
3.- Vitamin deficiency.
It has been found that the most common vitamin deficiencies found in people with fibromyalgia, are magnesium and vitamin B12 deficiency and D.
The best way to measure magnesium is a red blood cell (RBC) magnesium level, this can be tested through your doctor.
4. Gluten intolerance.
Gluten is being linked to more and more than 55 diseases. It is becoming increasingly clear that most of the symptoms of gluten intolerance are not actually digestive in nature, but are instead neurological, such as pain, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, behavior problems, fatigue and depression.
5. Candida overgrowth as one of the causes of fibromyalgia.
It has been found that many people who suffer from fibromyalgia also suffer from candida overgrowth. Candida is a fungus or yeast that lives in the intestines.
If your body overproduces this fungus/yeast, the wall of the intestines breaks down and enters the bloodstream, releasing toxic by-products into your body and causing a host of unpleasant symptoms such as digestive problems, fatigue, mental confusion and pain.
6. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SBI) and leaky gut.
We have bacteria in us and on us, and when these bacteria become unbalanced due to antibiotics or a high sugar diet, we can hinder our ability to digest and absorb nutrients, especially vitamin B12.
Gluten can cause SIBO and leaky gut, and these conditions can lead to intolerance to gluten and other foods. It can be a vicious cycle; you must have a healthy gut.
7. Mycotoxins.
These are very toxic substances, produced by fungi. You need to ask your doctor to write you an order for a urine mycotoxin test, this will show if you have been exposed to toxic molds.
As you can see from the list above, there is no single cause of fibromyalgia. Contact your doctor and find your root cause. You don’t have to suffer unnecessarily or cover your symptoms with pain medication and antidepressants.